1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit and method for packing gloves in a kit, and more specifically, to a kit and method for preparing a glove pair for a packaged kit which would not have gloves.
2. Background Description
Infection control is an important concern in the medical field in view of the possibility of life threatening illness or incurable disease transmission in the health care environment. Practitioners that have contact with the sick and with biohazardous material risk their lives on a daily basis. The entire field of health care has changed with respect to the great concern and precautions undertaken for preventing the spread of infection. There was a time when the use of gloves as an infection barrier was intended to prevent the surgeon from contaminating the patient. Today even dentists wear gloves while routinely examining their patients.
Because of the desire to limit transmission of infection to their patients during surgery, doctors have followed a scrub procedure before donning their surgical gloves. The procedures for donning surgical gloves has developed out of a recognized need to maintain the sterility of the exterior surface of the gloves so as to prevent transmission of infection to the patient. Surgeon's gloves are packaged so that they can be donned without contaminating the outside surface. In particular, the aseptic presentation of the pair of surgeon's gloves is part of the way such gloves are packed to aid in donning after the package containing the gloves is opened. The cuffs are folded up toward the hand portion so each glove can be handled by the inside surface while donning. The outside of the glove remains sterile since only the inside is touched with an ungloved hand. After one glove is on the second glove can be entered with the fingers of the ungloved hand and the gloved hand can be used to smooth the outside and to unfolded the cuff downwardly over the the wrist by touching only the outside surface of the glove. The glove package is designed to be opened without touching the outside of the gloves and so that the cuffs are folded as described.
The most commonly used latex gloves have been well known as surgeon's gloves because of their very thin finger tips which allow sensitivity to the doctor's sense of touch even with the gloves on the surgeon's hands. Latex gloves are designed to provide minimal impairment of the sense of feel and offer practically no restraint to the surgeon's dexterity during use. Gloves of other materials which are thicker, hypoallergenic or solvent resistant are available for specific uses. The packaging of the gloves for other uses is such that those gloves remain sterile during warehousing, shipment and before opening for use. The donning requirements are not as important in non surgical situations where the gloves primary purpose is to prevent the practitioner from becoming infected.
Frequently the health care specialist has to handle dangerous or possibly infectious specimens, contaminated bedding or used medical supplies, equipment or devices. There is no simple way of knowing if there is contamination and so the safest approach is to use gloves as a barrier or infection control. Biohazardous substancces are frequently handled and tested for deadly virus, infection or the like and those substances typically require special care during handling. Consequently, the need and desire for gloves has increased to an extent that those involved in health care use several pairs of gloves each workday.
Areas of considerable concern, since acquired immune deficiency syndrome has spread, are medical procedures where blood is handled. Similarly, herpes and hepatitis are also dangers which require the use of gloves. In order to protect himself, the practitioner must remember to find a clean glove pair before undertaking to perform a procedure which involves blood or other bodily fluids. The extreme demand for the protection afforded by gloves often makes them difficult to find and so the convenience of using gloves is frequently troublesome.
During the last twenty five years disposable medical devices have been used for a variety of medical treatment and procedures. Disposable medical devices have contributed largely to preventing the spread of infection by eliminating reuse of needles, blades, containers and the like. Even with sterilization the handling necessary to prepare reusable medical devices creates a risk of infection. To add to the convenience of disposable medical devices manufacturers have for some time packaged the items required for various procedures in a common tray. One such package has included an intravenous catheter, a dressing a tourniquet, a form of disinfectant or antimicrobial treatment and other required paraphernalia needed to effect a catheterization. That is not to suggest that there have not been other trays for other purposes because there have been as many types of assemblies as there are medical procedures.
The purchasers of supplies for the health care needs prefer to order specific trays since the allocation of the cost of individual components to a particular patient is practically impossible. With a specific tray comes all of the items in a neat convenient package and each tray is sterilized and sealed when manufactured. Moreover gloves have been included in trays arranged for numerous surgical procedures, the addition of gloves has typically included the package for aseptic presentation as already explained. The idea of gloves in a package designed to contain merely the pieces used to start an intravenous catheter would suggest that the tray be doubled in size to accommodate such gloves.
Heretofore, a simple way to prepare gloves for their addition to a kit arranged to start a catheter was not available and such a kit including gloves arranged to reside with the other components was simply unknown.